Pineapple Jam (filling)
Ingredients:
2 cans crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cup white sugar
Blend pineapple, with juice, then put it in the widest pot you have, with the sugar. Cook, stirring nearly constantly, until most of the liquid has evaporated and you are left with a "jam" that can be rolled into balls. (The jam will harden a bit more once it is cool, and you can always cook it again if it is still too wet. It is better to undercook than overcook.) You can tell it is nearly there when there are no more puddles in the pan and the pineapple goes from pale buttery yellow to a darker color as the sugars caramelize.
Tart Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
1. Sift together the four dry ingredients.
2. In an electric mixer, beat the butter until it is fluffy, then add the egg yolks one at a time.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. If the dough is crumbly, you can add a little more butter to make it malleable.
Forming the tarts:
Divide your dough into 24 equal balls. One by one, carefully flatten a ball of dough, put a spoonful of jam into the middle, then gather up the edges and form your dough/jam parcel into a ball. Use your fingers to gentle form it into a rectangle shape, and place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Once all of your tarts are formed, use a small paring knife to carefully put cross-hatches in the surface to resemble pineapples. Brush with an egg wash if desired, and bake 20-25 minutes at 350.
